Stars
"Stars" is the 19th song in Act I of the musical Les Misérables. It takes place after Javert unwittingly saves Valjean and Cosette from Thénardier and his gang's attempt to rob both of them, and subsequently discovers that Valjean, his old time rival, has surfaced once again, but has slipped through his grasp. He vows to complete his manhunt. The placement of the piece has been changed for various adaptations (musical, motion picture, etc.). The majority of it is a solo piece, sung in its entirety by Javert, explaining some of his reasonings for pursuing the law the way he does, and reiterating his resolve to capture Valjean once and for all. It is one of the more well-known songs in the musical and is Javert's most important song. Gavroche has a verse explaining his dislike for Javert. It is also one of two pieces sung solely by Javert (the other being Javert's Suicide). The lyrics were written by Herbert Kretzmer. Lyrics Javert: There, out in the darkness, A fugitive running Fallen from God Fallen from grace(Fallen from God) God be my witness I never shall yield Till we come face to face Till we come face to face He knows his way in the dark Mine is the way of the Lord And those who follow the path of the righteous Shall have their reward And if they fall As Lucifer fell The flame The sword! Stars In your multitudes Scarce to be counted Filling the darkness With order and light You are the sentinels Silent and sure Keeping watch in the night Keeping watch in the night You know your place in the sky You hold your course and your aim And each in your season Returns and returns And is always the same And if you fall as Lucifer fell You fall in flame! And so it must be for so it is written On the doorway to paradise That those who falter and those who fall Must pay the price! Lord, let me find him That I may see him Safe behind bars I will never rest Till then This I swear This I swear by the stars! Gavroche: That inspector thinks he's something But it's me who runs this town! And my theater never closes And the curtain's never down Trust Gavroche, have no fear Don't you worry, auntie dear, You can always find me here! Progression *In the original Barbican version of the show and the London cast recording, at the song's ending, instead of Javert's final plea to God, there is a reprise of the chorus with slightly different words: Scarce to be counted Changing the chaos To order and light You are the sentinels Silent and sure Keeping watch in the night Keeping watch in the night. *Furthermore, this version came immediately after The Bargain/The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery as in the film. It was nearly cut but after some discussion and negotiation by actor Roger Allam, it was instead moved to its present place. *In the Original London and Broadway musical versions: *Fallen from God. Fallen from grace* is changed to *Fallen from grace. Fallen from grace.* Trivia *The song is known as "Sous les étoiles" in the 1991 Paris revival, "Estrellas" in the Spanish production, "Sterne" in the German production, "Gwiazdy" in the Polish production and "Ster" in the Dutch production. *Gavroche's part is not in the 2012 film and in 10th anniversary concert. The 25th anniversary concert and most productions of the musical since late 2000 maintain it, except for the line "don't you worry auntie dear" which is cut. *The song precedes "Look Down" in the 2012 film. Videos Category:Music Category:Songs Category:Songs Sung by Gavroche Thénardier Category:Songs Sung by Javert